Fukushima radiation levels hit 2-year high

This handout picture taken by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) on August 26, 2013.( AFP Photo / Tepco) / AFP

Seawater just outside one of Japan’s damaged Fukushima Daiichi reactors registered radiation levels on Wednesday 13 times the previous day’s reading, the operator of the crippled nuclear plant said on Thursday.

Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), said combined
Cesium-134 and Cesium-137 readings just outside the damaged No. 2
reactor jumped to 1,200 becquerels per liter on Wednesday, the
highest levels recorded since late 2011.

Regulatory limits for Cesium, which emits powerful gamma
radiation and is potentially fatal to humans, is 90 bq/liter for
Cesium-137 and 60 bq/liter for Cesium-134.

A TEPCO spokesman said the sudden spike in radiation was caused
by construction work near the No. 2 building, Reuters reported.

News of the spike in radiation levels is the latest setback this
week for TEPCO, which has been harshly criticized for its
handling of the nuclear disaster in the wake of the massive quake
and tsunami that hit the power station in March 2011, triggering
three reactor meltdowns.

On Wednesday, six workers were exposed to radiation after a pipe
connected to a contaminated water treatment system was mistakenly
detached. Reuters estimates that at least 7 tons of water escaped
the system.

Earlier, a worker accidentally switched off a water pump used to
channel water into the reactor building.

Crews are using chemicals to fortify the soil around the
Fukushima reactor buildings - hundreds of meters from the port
entrance that connects to the Pacific Ocean - to prevent
contaminated water from flowing into the ocean. The pressure from
injecting chemicals into the ground forced contaminated soil out
into the port area, the spokesman said.

TEPCO also said Cesium-137 readings just outside the silt fence
next to the No.2 reactor increased to160 bq/liter, a number that
exceeds the regulatory limit and almost double the previous day's
reading.

Radiation from radioactive water leaking from the plant is mostly
confined to the harbor around the facility, officials have said.

TEPCO, which is using hundreds of tons of water in an effort to
keep the reactors from overheating, has struggled to contain the
buildup of radioactive water at the plant.

The accidents at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, situated 220 km
(130 miles) from Tokyo, are fueling doubts over TEPCO’s abilities
to oversee a hugely complicated cleanup that is expected to take
decades.

Last week, the beleaguered Japanese energy company said 430
liters (113 gallons) of contaminated water had leaked from a
storage tank at Fukushima and probably flowed to the ocean.

Meanwhile, Japanese officials have said there is no environmental
threat to other countries as radiation will be diluted by the
sea.

Tokyo, despite lingering concerns over the long-term safety
situation at Fukushima, was selected last month to host the 2020
Olympic Games.

In September, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the International
Olympic Committee that problems at Fukushima were "under
control" and any contamination is limited to the harbor next
to the crippled plant.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority last week ordered TEPCO to
hire additional workers and report within a week on its cleanup
progress.

Abe declared on Sunday that the country would be grateful for any
help from abroad to contain the crisis.